


Nothing's Impossible

by originalgrissel



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-27
Updated: 2013-05-27
Packaged: 2017-12-13 02:55:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/819141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/originalgrissel/pseuds/originalgrissel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tosh and Ianto share lunch, coffee and confidences.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nothing's Impossible

**Author's Note:**

> One-shot ficlet set shortly after Jack's return to Cardiff wherein Tosh & Ianto discuss Jack asking Ianto out and the merits of playing hard to get. Mentions of Ianto/Jack & Toshiko/Owen ships. Originally posted to LJ on Jan. 28th, 2008  
> _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

They sat on the bench, sandwiches in hand watching the gulls dive and swoop. Above them the sky was overcast but the Plass was still full of foot traffic. A little potential rain never seemed to keep the residents of Cardiff indoors. Toshiko took another sip of her lukewarm coffee and glanced over at the young man beside her. 

“So… things going alright? I mean…you know…with Jack? ”

Half of his turkey on whole wheat still left uneaten Ianto balled it up in the paper wrapper and tossed it deftly into a nearby trashcan. He was silent for a long moment and Tosh thought he might not answer at all, but suddenly he turned to face her, his brow furrowed. “He asked me out on a date… I mean a proper date-dinner, a movie. He said he’d been thinking about asking me out while he’d been away.”

A huge grin spread across Toshiko’s face. “That’s great! I assume you said yes.”

Standing up the archivist shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat and paced a few steps. “Of course I said yes, he caught me off guard, but now…” 

“Now what?”

“Now I’m thinking that maybe I should have said no.” Tosh opened her mouth to argue with him but he shook his head and cut her off, “I mean it, Tosh. I’d finally gotten to a place where thinking about him didn’t feel like getting kicked in the ribs and then he just breezes back into our lives and we’re meant to act as if he’d never been gone, as if…he hadn’t abandoned us?”

Her dark eyes full of sympathy Toshiko reached out and took his hand, tugging him back down on the bench beside her. “He didn’t abandon us." Ianto looked at her in disbelief. "Well alright, I suppose he did...sort of, but you and I both know that he had to go.”

“Had to go be with his doctor!’ Ianto muttered a bit petulantly. 

Tosh grinned at the brief flash of jealousy in his voice. “No, he had to go find some answers. And I think he did. Perhaps they weren’t the ones he’d been hoping for but, I think he’s better for having heard them and I know that you do to. And, if he was so desperate to be with his doctor why did he bother coming back at all?” 

“He came back for the team. That’s what he said, isn’t it?”

“No, he said he came back for you. Oh, he might have included the rest of us as well, but we were an afterthought. We’re a bit more expendable …but you? He needs you, Ianto.”

“He needs me now, but…what if I let him in again and then he decides that he needs someone or something else more? What if he leaves again, Tosh?” 

He looked so young, suddenly, so full of fear and uncertainty. He’d had so much loss in his life already and she couldn’t blame him for being afraid, but he deserved to be happy; they all did. 

“You’re right, he might leave again, it’s even possible that one day he might find someone else, but Ianto…what if he doesn’t? What if all those months away finally made him see what was right in front of him all this time? What if he loves you as much as you love him?”

It seemed too much to hope for that Jack might actually return his feelings, but Ianto supposed that anything was possible; After working for Torchwood for so long how could he not? Still, it was frightening to think about opening himself up again to all the potential heartache that loving Jack entailed. 

“I know it’s scary to give someone else that much power over your heart, but sometimes…it’s worth the risk even if it doesn’t work out in the end. Real love isn’t that easy to find, Ianto and even if you only have it for a little while…sometimes that’s enough.”

He squeezed her fingers briefly, remembering that Toshiko too had known her own heartache. “So you think I should go on the date, then and give him another chance?”

She nodded, smiling tentatively, “Yes, I do. Of course that’s not to say that I think you should let him off the hook entirely. I mean, going off like he did without even a goodbye was totally out of order, so you shouldn’t make it too easy for him. Make him work a bit, make him see he’s going to have to do a bit of groveling to get back in your good graces completely.”

Ianto grinned, “Make him squirm, eh? Yes, that idea definitely has some appeal.”

For several minutes they sat together in silence, drinking the last dregs of their coffees and watching a group of tourists that were snapping pictures of the Millenium Center across the way. 

“So…” Ianto began running one well-manicured finger around the rim of his cup, “What about you? How are things going? Any progress?”

Rolling her own cup between her palms Tosh shrugged. “Hard to say. He’s off the bar scene though, I think. Told me being out on the pull every night hadn’t really gotten him anywhere...something about diminishing returns. Said he needs a proper woman, someone he’s got something in common with.” Ianto raised one finely arched brow at that statement, but didn’t comment otherwise. “After Diane…well, I think maybe he’s finally realized that taking a different stranger home every night is more than a little empty; At least, I hope that’s what he’s realized.” 

He really didn’t understand why Toshiko was alone. She was beautiful, incredibly intelligent and she had a good heart. It seemed that blokes should have been queued up round the block wanting to take her out. Of course maybe they were and she just didn’t notice, since she usually only had eyes for Owen. Ianto cursed the doctor silently. Either the man was completely blind or he was just a bastard because it was clear to anyone with eyes that Toshiko was hopelessly in love with the idiot. 

“So, when did he reveal this latest revelation to you?” Ianto asked, trying not to let his annoyance with Owen come through but failing. 

With a wan smile Tosh tossed her empty coffee cup into the trashcan beside the bench. “Right after Jack came back. We were in that warehouse, on our little wild goose chase for Captian John.”

It sounded to Ianto as if Owen had been testing the waters to see if Tosh was still interested in him, but he didn’t voice his thoughts just yet. “And did he say anything else?” 

She shrugged one wool covered shoulder. “Not really… just asked if I had any prospects on the horizon.”

Now he was positive that Owen, in his own ineloquent, bumbling way, had been trying to gauge whether or not he still might have a chance with Toshiko. Ianto only hoped that if Owen did manage to start something with her that he wouldn’t end up breaking her heart in the end. 

“Well,” he said, standing and offering her his arm, “that sounds like progress to me.” 

She stood as well and looped her arm through his, “So is this the bit where you tell me that I should take my own advice and go for it?” 

They began walking back toward the tourist office. “Well, if you’re set on him, then I suppose you should. Of course, I don’t think you should let him off the hook entirely either. If you make things too easy for him he’s liable to take you for granted. No, I think that a full course of groveling and begging is called for. If Owen Harper wants a proper woman then he’s going to have to behave like a proper gentleman to get her.”

A bark of laughter erupted from Tosh and she leaned into Ianto’s arm affectionately. “Owen a proper gentleman? That’ll be the day.”

When they reached the door he opened it for her and ushered her into the office. “Normally, I’d agree with you, but if Jack Harkness can decide to ask me out on a proper date, then I think that anything may be possible.”

The End


End file.
